Over the last 30+ years, The Covenant Group has had the privilege of educating and coaching thousands of entrepreneurs. The highest performing entrepreneurs have only one common denominator of success that I have been able to identify: they all see the greatness in others. When their clients look into their eyes, they see their own greatness reflected back.
It reminds me of the story of Narcissus. For those of us who grew up with the classics, we know that Narcissus was a young man who fell in love with his own image. Each day, he would go to a pool of water and gaze at his image. One day, he became so entranced with his own image that he leaned too far and fell into the water. Unable to swim, he drowned.
After his death, the water in the pool turned saline. The gods who drank from the pool were perplexed. They said to the pool, “Your water was so pure and now we cannot drink it. What happened?”
The pool responded: “When that young man gazed at me, I saw my own beauty reflected in his eyes. I have been mourning the death of Narcissus and my tears have made my water salty.” The pool did not interpret the gaze of Narcissus as love of self, but as admiration of its own beauty.
The best entrepreneurs love the people they serve. Those clients see their own greatness reflected in the eyes of the advisor. They become better and richer through their interactions with the brand, and the employee, business and brand become better and richer as well. There is a simple truth: You have to love someone before you can change them. Top entrepreneurs love their clients or customers. As a result, they are “Change Agents” who are able to facilitate the growth and development of the people they serve. The one common denominator of high performing entrepreneurs is their ability to see the greatness in others and inspire their clients to realize their potential.
